The Secret Service may begin a criminal investigation against the Virginia couple who crashed a high-profile White House dinner, an agency spokesman said Friday in Washington.

Jim Mackin said the Secret Service has remained silent about what happened in part because of the possibility of criminal charges.

Michaele and Tareq Salahi somehow got through a security checkpoint on Tuesday and attended a dinner honouring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House, although they were not on the guest list.

The two are potential candidates for the reality TV show Real Housewives of D.C. Michaele Salahi was being filmed around Washington as she prepared for the dinner by a film crew connected with the reality show, Bravo has confirmed.

The Secret Service acknowledges that its procedures weren't followed, but hasn't said what story the Salahis used to past security.

"As this moves closer to a criminal investigation there's less that we can say," Mackin said. "I don't want to jeopardize what could be a criminal investigation. We're not leaving any option off the table at this point."

It was not immediately clear what charges would be pursued.